Inspirato is an impressive collection of thirteen pieces composed and orchestrated by Yanni and sung by some of the biggest names in opera. I have to say upfront that I am not a fan of operatic singing, but I really enjoyed Yanni’s earlier Voce and Voices, so I thought I’d give it a try. Yanni didn’t write any of the lyrics (most of which are not in English) and the songs have been retitled, but these are some of Yanni’s best-known pieces and should be easily recognizable to long-time fans. All of the music is orchestrated and most songs include piano, strings and other instrumentation, providing a lush accompaniment to some of the most powerful singing voices from around the world. Yanni has always been an artist who dreams big and has a way of making those dreams come true, so it must be quite a triumph to make this complex project come to fruition so beautifully. With classical music becoming a dying art, I salute Yanni for bringing what are often totally opposing forces in music (contemporary and classical) together and clearly demonstrating that music is music no matter what the genre. I can only imagine the thrill of having artists like Placido Domingo and Renee Fleming singing your songs!

The featured singers are Renee Fleming, Vittorio Grigolo, Placido Domingo, Katherine Jenkins, Nathan Pacheco, Placido Domingo Jr., Micaela Oeste, Chloe Lowery, Russell Watson, Lauren Jelencovich, Rolando Villazon, and Pretty Yende. Most appear as soloists, but there are a couple of duets and a quintet that present several of them in combinations. Placido Domingo Jr. wrote the lyrics for six of the pieces and Nathan Pacheco wrote words for four.

This is not one of my favorite Yanni albums, but it is still very beautiful and well worth a listen. Inspirato is available from Amazon, iTunes, and just about any other music outlet.